[CrimsonCape]

Any response to your question is hypothetical at this point (disclaimer) so here's my hypothetical explanation of how conversation would have led to less deaths:

A lot of people believed the lab leak "consipracy theory", but Fauci and company were so adamant to contradict the "conspiracy theorists" that it practically destroyed those people's willingness to heed any of the CDC directives.

Of course I can only say anecdotally violating CDC guidelines results in more deaths, but that's the gist of my hypothetical.

See this article:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/06/16/heres-w...

[ribosometronome]

Certainly, a weird coincidence that many of the people worried about it being a lab leak early on, also had downplayed it and practice little caution to avoid getting it.